Meandering musings of some guy named Doug residing in the 'burblands of Minnesota.

Tuesday, September 28, 2004

The Calm Before the Storm

No, this isn't a post about another hurricane. We don't get those up here in Minnesota (though those who perished on the Edmund Fitzgerald may beg to differ).

The coming storm soon to arrive is in the blogosphere, kicked off by the first presidential debate Thursday night. I have noticed a distinctly subdued tone in many of my usual blog-haunts yesterday and today. I'm betting it's the blogosphere taking little rest to prepare for the flurry of commentary that will spill forth once the debates are underway (not even waiting for them to finish - Vodkapundit is blogging in a way I'm envious of during the first debate).

I feel much the same. Not a lot of energy devoted to blogging tonight. So instead I'll direct you to a very good pre-debate analysis from Tutukai. Tutukai is a self-described "militant moderate," and he means it. Expect no favoritism toward Democrats or Republicans from him. That's why I find his analysis insightful. I hear all the preaching to the choir, and cheap-shots at the other side I want.

Other than his take on the candidates, which I find fair and accurate, I particularly like the fact that he includes coaching advice for the media representatives - from the debate questioners to post-debate pundits. He notes that:

"After the first Gore-Bush debate, most media commentators instantly declared Gore the winner, oblivious to the prickish behavior by Gore that had alienated vast swaths of the electorate. The media bias that existed before the debate had determined the post-debate assessment before the debate itself ever happened. Pundits need to assess the debate, not just their own preferences about who should be elected."

That's a good message for bloggers as well. Everyone with a favored candidate in this is going to have a tendency to slant things in favor of their guy. I hope we have the ability to temper our enthusiasm to the extent it doesn't cloud our perception of reality.

2 Comments:

I wish that people from the northern part of the midwest would stop joking about the Edmund Fitzgerald. You think you're making some great, obscure reference, when it fact it's obnoxious, and completely disrespectful.

Wasn't a joke, Paul. The weather conditions on Lake Superior when the Edmund Fitzgerald went down have been described as an "inland hurricane" due to the wind strength. Sorry if you find it disrespectful to remark upon, but I'm baffled trying to figure out why.